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Forte B-flat

The Forte clarinets are made in Czechoslovakia, but they are
designed by Dr. (medical doctor) Omar Henderson, who lives in the USA
(in Georgia). They make a wooden C clarinet which I have not tried. [Jun2011: Production had ceased before March 2010.]

The
Forte has slightly more ergonomic register and throat-tone A and B-flat
keys. Notice the Czech shape of the upper end of the register key.

Forte

I
have really enjoyed owning and playing this instrument. Testimony of
that is that I sold my golden years Buffet R-13, but kept the Forte.
The original barrel is 63.92mm long, which is an excellent length for
students playing in bands.

My main clarinet is now a Lyrique,
but I must say that I very much like the warmer (perhaps hollower)
sound of Forte. The Forte plays with a bit less resistance also (which
is great for beginners). These two things are probably due to the 15mm
bore.

High register

adding 2mm by inserting a barrel ring

pushed in all the way with Portnoy mouthpiece

F

0

0

E

0

+4

D

+6 to 10

+15

C

0 to +3

0 to +4

B

+10

A

+4

Middle of treble clef

G

0 to +4

same

F

+10

E

+10

+10 & variable

D

+14

+9

C

+14

0 to +12

B

+14

+8

Throat tones

Bflat

+7

0 to +10

A

+8

0 to +12

G

0

0

F

0

0

E

0

0

Chalemeau

D

+3

0

C

0

0

Bflat

+14

+11

A

+10

+6

G

+8

0

F

0

-9

E

Again,
I am playing “dumb” when testing (uniformly loud and not lipping), so I
play better in tune than this when I endeavor to play “smart.” The
second test shows how different I can be on different days! This shows
also why my tests can only be seen as approximations! The second test
is with a Legere 4 Quebec reed and my Portnoy BP02 mouthpiece. The
first test was probably with a different mouthpiece.

Other than great sound and intonation, the Forte clarinet has several nice features:

The
right hand part of the bridge key is recessed, which makes it much less
likely that beginning students will bend keys by improperly assembling
the horn.

The thumb rest is adjustable.

There is a
little mark on the back that shows you visually if the two keyed joints
are in correct alignment. (A nice touch, but not really important.)

The plastic seems heavier than some plastic horns.

I really enjoy the improvement in tone I get when playing this instrument with my new Ridenour barrel.

The
bridge key will not so easily collide and cause bending with this
recessed design. This is a good idea for students. Also there is a
little divided icon that helps align the two joints. Mine is an early
production model, so the icon was clumsily applied.

Note that the thumb rest is adjustable. I always put on a piece of surgical hose to pad the thumb rest.

The
keys are seriously thick. They may be made of pot metal, but have an
excellent durable shiny finish and they seem to be indestructible.

No problems using this in a marching band!

Such key work is typical of this Czech manufacturer.

[Jun2011]The company who made the Forte is Amati. Omar Henderson sold rights to some features of the Forte clarinet to Amati, and we should expect to see some of these on Amati instruments.